Five leading American labor unions, backed by the AFL-CIO, unveiled the creation of a joint campaign initiative focused on saving Temporary Protected Status, revealing nearly one million dollars already raised and throwing its weight behind the TPS bill introduced today by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Painter’s and Allied Trades, UNITE HERE, Bricklayers, UFCW, and the Ironworkers publicly launched Working Families United today, an immigrant worker advocacy coalition that will be running a nearly million-dollar campaign to extend Temporary Protective Status in the coming weeks. The partner unions represent tens of thousands of TPS union workers in hospitality, construction, and trades who would lose their legal worker status if TPS is not renewed.
Working Families United is the only major TPS advocacy organization funded exclusively by labor, and has the formidable backing of nearly one million dollars for advocacy in the final weeks of the 2017 congress. The TPS campaign budget will include a variety of ad buys and will center around key congressional targets crucial in bipartisan passage of HR 4253/SBX.
There are over 320,000 TPS holders in America, working legally, paying taxes, and contributing to the economy. Many have been in America for decades and have raised families that include American born children. TPS designations to countries with humanitarian or environmental crises have been renewed annually, but are now threatened under the Trump administration. Currently, the decision of DHS to terminate TPS would have immediate, expensive ramifications for our country and industry costing taxpayers $3 billion, a $45 billion reduction in GDP, $6.9 billion reduction in Social Security and Medicare contributions and nearly $1 billion in employer costs combined with and already stressed skilled worker pool.
Labor unions are making a strong statement that people who have lived here for decades and played by the rules should be offered a path to legalization and citizenship.
For more information: iupat.org